Musashi - Eiji Yoshikawa [396]
On this trip, he had left the finances to Otsū, who had received a sizable gift of travel money from Lord Karasumaru. She had been paying the bills and giving him a certain amount of spending money each morning, as any ordinary housewife might do.
Keeping only a little for himself, he distributed the rest of his money among the men, and though they’d expected more, they agreed to undertake the search as a “special favor.”
“Wait for us by the two-story gate of the Suwa Myōjin Shrine,” the spokesman advised. “By evening we’ll be back with some news.” They made off in several directions.
Rather than waste the day doing nothing, Musashi went to see Takashima Castle and the town of Shimosuwa, stopping here and there to note features of the local topography, which might come in handy at some future date, and to observe the methods of irrigation. He asked several times whether there were any outstanding military experts in the area, but heard nothing of interest.
As sundown drew near, he went to the shrine and sat down, tired and dispirited, on the stone stairway leading up to the two-story gate. No one showed up, so he took a turn around the spacious shrine grounds. But when he returned to the gate, there was still no one there.
Though not loud, the sound of horses stamping the ground began to get on his nerves. Descending the steps, he came upon a shed, obscured by the trees, where an ancient horsekeeper was feeding the shrine’s sacred white horse.
He glanced at Musashi accusingly. “Can I help you?” he asked brusquely. “Do you have some business with the shrine?”
Upon hearing why Musashi was there, he broke out in uncontrollable laughter. Musashi, seeing nothing at all funny about his predicament, made no attempt to conceal a scowl. Before he spoke, however, the old man said, “You’ve no business being on the road by yourself. You’re too innocent. Did you really believe roadside vermin would spend the whole day looking for your friends? If you paid them in advance, you’ll never see them again.”
“You mean you think they were just putting on an act when they divided up and left?”
The horsekeeper’s expression changed to one of sympathy. “You’ve been robbed!” he said. “I heard there were about ten vagrants drinking and gambling in the grove on the other side of the mountain all day today. They’re most likely the ones. These things happen all the time.” He went on to tell some stories of travelers being cheated out of their money by unscrupulous laborers, but concluded mildly, “That’s the way the world is. You’d better be more careful from now on.”
With this sage advice, he picked up his empty pail and departed, leaving Musashi feeling foolish. “It’s too late to do anything now,” he sighed. “I pride myself on my ability not to give my opponent any opening, and then get taken in by a gang of illiterate workmen!” This evidence of his gullibility came like a slap in the face. Such lapses could easily muddy his practice of the Art of War. How could a man so easily deceived by his inferiors effectively command an army? As he climbed slowly toward the gate, he resolved to henceforth pay more attention to the ways of the world about him.
One of the laborers was peering around in the dark, and as soon as he caught sight of Musashi, he called to him and ran partway down the steps.
“Glad I found you, sir,” he said. “I’ve got news about one of the people you’re looking for.”
“Oh?” Musashi, having just reprimanded himself for his naiveté, was astonished but gratified to know that not everyone in the world was a swindler. “By one of them, do you mean the boy or the woman?”
“The boy. He’s with Daizō of Narai, and I’ve found out where Daizō is, or at least where he’s headed.”
“Where might that be?”
“I didn’t think that bunch I was with this morning would do what they promised. They took the day off to gamble, but I felt sorry for you. I went from Shiojiri to Seba, asking everybody I ran into. Nobody knew anything about the girl, but I heard from the maid at the inn where I ate that Daizō passed through